


Loving A Nephilim- Book Four

by EideticPrettyBoySpence



Series: Loving a Nephilim [4]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-20
Updated: 2020-02-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:27:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22702432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EideticPrettyBoySpence/pseuds/EideticPrettyBoySpence
Summary: This story takes place durin 14x1-14x3
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester/Original Female Character(s), Jack Kline/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Loving a Nephilim [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1246541
Kudos: 1





	Loving A Nephilim- Book Four

It's been three weeks since Michael went back on his word and took over Dean's body. We've tracked down every possible lead, all of which were a bust, on top of still working cases. Sammy and I just came back from Atlanta, where we went to talk to a woman who claimed she saw an angel. "Sam, Nyssa," she says, hugging us. "Hey, mom," Sam says. "How was Atlanta?" "It was, uh- it was a bust," Sam chuckles, setting his bag on the table. "The woman who claims she saw an 'angel'... was... let's just say I think she had one too many hits of the brown acid, you know?" "Sam, we're gonna find him. Ketch is working a lead in London. Castiel is in Detroit. I know it's been three weeks since Dean... something will break. It has to." "Yeah. Yeah, you keep saying that," Sam yawns. "Have you slept? At all?" Sam just clears his throat. "Sam, you need to rest. Go and lay down." Just then a man with long hair and a beard comes up to us. "Hey, chief. Good to have you back." "Thanks." "Don't thank me yet. Word is we got some vamps heading east on I-90. Gypsy types. Pickin' off truckers mostly." "Last body got drained and dropped just outside La Crosse six hours ago," another man says. "Okay. Um... all right. Get me teams of two. I want watch points every fifty miles. If you see something, say something. Maggie, can you hack the traffic cams on the freeway?" "Um... no." "Right. Right. Of course. Sorry. Um, I got it. Thank you. Uh, please. Would you call in Sharon and her crew? We're gonna need all hands on deck here. Thank you." "Yes, Sir," a man with salt and pepper hair says. Sam sits in a chair in front of his laptop and starts typing. "Sam..." "I'm good. I'm good. I am. Hey, how's Jack?" Mary tells us Jack is with Bobby, training to learn how to fight without his grace. I jog toward the makeshift gym/training area and open the door just in time to see Bobby land a punch, knocking Jack to the ground where he lands with a grunt. I run over to him and kneel next to him and scan him for injuries. "Bobby, hey, take it easy. Don't hurt him, please." "Watch for that left," he says, chuckling. "I never had to fight before," Jack says as I help him sit up. "Mm-hmm. Life's a little different when you can't just zap people around, huh?" "A lot different." "Yeah. You'll get used to it. Truth be told, this stuff didn't come all that easy for me, either. Had my ass handed to me more times than I can count." "But you kept fighting." "You got to. As a wise man once said, 'It ain't how hard ya hit. It's how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward'." "Was that Gandhi?" "Probably. Yeah, somethin' like that. Yeah. So, what are you gonna do?" "Watch the left." "Attaboy. Attaboy. Come on." After the training session, Jack heads to his room, shaking his head when I try to follow. So I flop on a chair at the table with a sigh. Then Bobby tells Sam what happened. So I follow him when he goes to talk to him, sitting next to him and laying my head on his shoulder. "Hey," Sam says. "Hey." "I uh, chatted with Bobby... he said you may have had a rough day today." "It was fine." "Okay. Jack... I know this must be so hard. Without your grace, without your powers, it's a lot, I'm sure. But you can get past this. I know you will. I have faith in you, Jack. And I believe in you. And-" Suddenly, Mary comes to stand in the doorway. "Sam, um. He's awake." "I know." "We'll talk later, all right?" Jack nods, and I kiss him softly before following Sam. We stop outside the door of Nick's room, taking a breath before opening it and walking into the room and stopping a few feet in. The man turns and looks at us when Sam clears his throat. "Oh, hey, Sam." "Hey... Nick. How'd you sleep?" "Uh, yeah. Um... okay. I didn't wake up screaming, so that's a plus." "Yeah. So, no more nightmares?" "They're getting better." "Good. May I, uh- may I see it?" Nick stands up and unbuttons his shirt, taking the bandage off his stab wound as Sam pours alcohol into a bowl over gauze pads. He hands the bowl to me to hold as he cleans the wound. "Oh, look at that. Looks like it's healing." "Yeah, it itches a lot. Doesn't really, uh, hurt! Ah!" he winces. "Sorry." "Ow," Nick blows sharply on his wound. "I don't get it. I don't understand how Lucifer could die and I could live." "Yeah, um... I think that maybe it's because the archangel blades were made to kill the archangel inside a-and not the person, they, uh-" "Possesses and uses to almost end the world twice?" "Yeah. That." "It must be weird, you looking at me and seeing him." "Yeah. But... I'm really glad it's you. I'm glad Lucifer is dead." "Me, too." "You still, uh- y-you still remember-" "Oh, I mean, just little bits and pieces here and there. Nothing- nothing about your brother." "Okay. And, uh, Michael? Did he tell Lucifer anything? Anything about his plan?" "I mean, I remember him saying he wanted to do it right this time." When we walk out of Nick's room a few minutes later, Sam's cell phone vibrates, so he answers it. "Hey, Cas." "Hello, Sam," an unfamiliar voice answers. "Who is this?" "Oh. I'm the boy who's got your angel. And if you wanna see him again, you know, alive, we should probably chat." So Sam and I gather Jack, Bobby, Mary, and Maggie, and start packing a bag with weapons. "It's a trap, you know that, right?" Mary says. "Yep." "This guy's a-" Bobby asks. "Demon." "He just told you he was a demon," Jack says slowly. "Yeah. He seemed pretty proud of it, too." "Yeah, they ain't a real humble bunch," Bobby says. "So, what do we do?" Maggie asks. "We get Cas back," I say through clenched teeth. "All right, grab holy water, Devil's trap bullets, angel blades, because whatever we're walking into-" "It's gonna suck," Bobby says. "Exactly. Maggie, you're with Bobby. Mom, you're with me and Nyssa." "I'm coming, too," Jack says. "I know I'm not as strong as I used to be, but I can help. I have to." "Jack, I need you safe," I say. "Listen, kid-" Bobby starts. "Okay," Sam says. "Grab your gear." "Are you kidding me?! We have no idea how many demons there's gonna be! Jack can't-" Jack cups my cheek and kisses me softly, ignoring everyone else around us. I lean my cheek into his hand, turning my head to kiss his palm and wrapping my hand around his. He pulls away from the kiss and rests his forehead against mine. "I'll be fine, I promise. Bobby's been training me every day, I can fight." "You better be," I say softly, and Jack runs to his room. "Sam, I mean- Jack's a worker, but he ain't ready for a full-on demon smackdown." "So... we keep an eye on him. He needs this, Bobby." Bobby turns and walks further into the bunker, probably to check on Jack. I turn to Sam, glaring daggers at him. "If he gets hurt-" "He'll be fine." Less than fifteen minutes later, we're all ready, and I follow Bobby and Jack out to his truck. Jack helps me climb in before he gets in after me. Sam and Mary head outside and climb into the Impala, and we head toward the place where Cas is to stage our rescue. My leg jiggles nervously until Jack places a hand on my knee, taking my hand and stroking his thumb across the back of it gently. "Listen, Jack. On the other side, you saved me and mine a dozen times. Now, things may be different now, but whatever happened- whatever happens- we got your back." "Bobby, if he gets hurt, I'll never forgive Sam." "I know, kiddo." We finally make it to the address the demon gave Sam, pulling into the parking lot and climbing out of the truck. Jack grabs my hips to help me down, and I stand in front of him after we walk to Sam and Mary. He wraps his arms around my waist and I lean against him. Sam takes a knife with a decorative hilt from the small of his back and hands it to his mother. "Here." "The Demon Killing knife. Are you sure?" "Yeah. They'll search me. It's safer with you," Sam turns to us. "All right. You know what to do." Sam walks into the restaurant alone, and we wait outside as the two men speak to each other. "Ladies and gentlemen, the great Sam Winchester. I have heard so much about you. You are a damn legend, Sam- a-an icon. Th- the shoulders, the- the hair. Mm-mm! You are my Beyonce." "Cas, you okay?" Sam ignores the demon, talking to my angel. "Of course he is. I don't damage the merchandise." "I'm more embarrassed than hurt." "And you are?" "Kipling," the man says, holding out a hand. "Kip for short." "Cool. Kip. I'm here liked you asked, so..." "Yeah, you're here, but not exactly as I asked. You see, I told you to come alone. But..." Bobby and Mary walk away from Jack, Maggie, and I to hide out of sight from the restaurant. Just then three men come from around the back door, advancing toward us slowly; I step in front of Jack and Maggie protectively, but one of the men grabs my arm. The other two grab Maggie and Jack, dragging us along toward the restaurant. "Found them outside. They didn't even put up a fight." "I'm sorry, Sam," Jack says, and the man holding him slams a fist into his stomach. "Stop it, leave him alone!" "It's fine, you tried. But I'm gonna need a little bit more now, you know, not to... eat them. I-it's just, you know, late capitalism. You understand," Kip walks over to the bar, sitting on the stool and picking up his drink. "So, Sam, let's make a deal." "You're looking to make a deal?" "I'm a demon. That's how we do. Please," the demon taps the stool next to him. "Sit. No? Suit yourself, barbarian." "What do you want?" "That is a very good question. What do I want? You know, I don't know if you're aware or not, Sam, but Hell's in a bit of a pickle, you know, with Crowley dead and Asmodeus Kentucky fried, which means-" I flinch softly at the mention of Crowley. "I don't care." "Yes, you do. Or, you will. You see, for the first time in a very long time, Hell is without a King. And that- that's just not right. So, I-" "So, you volunteer." "Exactly." "Why are you telling me all this?" "Because I want to work with you, Sam, not against you." "And is that why you took me hostage?" "It's exactly why you're still breathing. It gives me a chance to show Sam and friends that I can hurt them... but choose not to. You see, I want the Crowley Deal. I give you information, a spot of help every now and again, and in return, you choose to turn a blind eye to the crossroads deals, the demon on demon violence, et cetera." "We never gave Crowley that deal." "How exciting. Then I would be breaking new ground." "You got some good lines, I'll give you that much, but you're no Crowley. I know that. And so do they." "Ouch. Owie," Kip says sarcastically, glaring daggers at Sam. "I know I'm not that ponce-y son of a bitch. You see, in life, I rode with Genghis Khan, and I burned half the world. So, please, do you think that I like prancing around like this? Please. If I had it my way I would eat your heart. But a King has an image to maintain. And I'm not afraid of you. But... they are. So, take the deal, Sam, before I stop trying to be Crowley and I show you who I really am," then, the demon drops into an imitation of Crowley that makes my blood boil. "So, what do you say, darling?" "How dare you speak his name! He was a better man, a better King than you could ever be." I growl at Kip, lunging at him before the demon behind me drags me back. "No." "A-are you sure, because I know things- a-all sorts of things." "Yeah. So do I." "Like?" The only answer Kipling gets is from Bobby and Mary bursting in the door amid a volley of gunfire. The demon holding me shoves me away from him as he runs, trying to get away from the gunfire. "How smart," Kip says before blasting Sam away. "Hey. Stay low," Jack tells Maggie and me, standing up before I can stop him. "Hey! Get away from him!" "Jack, be careful! Stay back!" I stand up and run up next to him. "Aw, balls," Bobby says. The demon punches Jack in the face, knocking him to the ground. Then he kicks him in the face, knocking him out. "Jack, baby, hey, you're okay, I got you," I drop to my knees and check his pulse, letting out a breath. Mary ducks behind the bar and hands Maggie an angel blade. "Take this. You know how to use it?" "Uh, stab them with the pointy end?" "Pretty much. Okay." "Okay." Mary stands up, and a female demon jumps on her, wrapping an arm around her throat, choking her before Maggie stabs her. I crouch protectively near Jack, gripping my angel blade in a fist. I know the rest of my friends have it handled, so my priority is keeping Jack safe. After a couple of minutes, Sam shouts to be heard over the fighting. "Enough! There will be no new King of Hell. Not today. Not ever. And if anybody wants the job, you can come through me. Understood? So, what's it gonna be?" The air is filled with the screams of the vessels and black smoke as the demons disappear. "That's what I thought." I shake Jack's shoulder gently to wake him up, helping him sit up and cupping his face in my hands. He reaches up to rest his hand over mine and smiles at me softly. "Hey, I'm okay, don't worry. Are you alright?" "Yeah, I'm fine baby. Let's go home." I lean my head on Jack's shoulder as Bobby drives us back to the bunker. When we walk inside, Sam pulls out his phone and calls someone while he holds a cold beer to his head. "Yeah, yeah. I- no I don't care. I- just keep looking. Yeah. Thanks." "Who was that?" Cas asks, walking into the room. "Uh, Ketch. He's in London searching for the Newton-Dee Hyperbolic Pulse Generator." "The what?" "It's the- it's the magic egg that kicked Lucifer out of the President. I thought we could use it on Michael, but Ketch can't find it. So, that's another dead end, which is just awesome." "Sam, are you alright?" "Yeah, I've been better. I've been worse. You?" 'Our boyfriend is missing, Sam, how do you think he's doing?' I think to myself. "I'm- I'm just sorry. I should never have gone to those demons." "No, I-I-I don't blame you. I... honestly, I- wish I'd thought of it first. If it meant finding Dean, I-I'd.. work with... I'd do anything." I go off in search of Jack with Cas and find him in the bathroom next to his room. I walk up behind him and wrap my arms around his waist, kissing his shoulder softly, making him chuckle. "Hey, Jack," Cas says. "I'm fine." "You did well." "All I did was get punched... in the face." "Well, to be fair, we all got punched in the face." "That's not- before, when I had my powers, I-I could have done something, and-" "Hey, baby, shh," I cup his cheek in my hand. "Jack. You don't- you- you don't have your powers. And you- your grace should regenerate in time, but until then-" "I'm useless. I can't kill demons, I can't find Dean, and Michael is in our world, and I can't stop him. I can't do anything. I don't have anything," my heart clenches when I hear that. "Oh, Jack, that's just not true. You've got me. You have all of us. You have your family. And- and we are going to find Dean and we are going to beat Michael and we're going to do it together. We- because that's what we do." I take Jack back to our room and curl up against his side, talking for hours before we fall asleep. When we wake up in the morning, Sam tells us he got a call from Jo, who got a visit from Michael. So we pack up and leave for the address she gave us, hoping he's not gone by the time we get there, hoping it's not another dead end. "Who goes to Duluth in October? Are you sure Michael didn't touch down in Orlando?" Bobby asks. "Jo was pretty specific- Duluth," Mary comes in. "Well, angels ain't known for their veracity," Bobby replies just as Cas walks in, clearing his throat. "No offense." "None taken. I tend to agree with you." Mary loads a pistol and walks over to Sam, handing it to him. "Thanks," he says, looking up from his laptop. "Hey, what's that?" "So, I've been searching through police reports in Duluth. Cops just turned up a pile of corpses that was dumped near some train tracks just north of town, and their eyes were burnt out." "So Michael?" "We should go- now. This isn't just Michael we're talking about." "It's Dean," Bobby and I say. "Yeah. Cas, you get why you can't come with us, right?" "My angelic presence would be sensed by Michael, thereby nullifying your hopes of a sneak attack." "Yeah. Sorry." "And... you need to stay here and babysit Nick and Jack." "It's not babysitting, Cas." "Only in the sense that they're not infants, but they both have to be supervised. Jack is... lost without his grace, and Nick is... I mean... he's just a mess." "Well, i-it's not... his fault. Cas, Nick was housing. You know, h-he deserves a shot at rebuilding his life." "And yet every time I look at him, all I can see is the supreme agent of evil." "You talking about my dad again?" Jack asks as he comes into the room. "Look I understand. Being around Nick- it's hard for me, too." "Uh, Jack, we're gonna need you to sit this mission out. Not a permanent thing." "I know the last time, I sucked when it mattered, and I need to improve. So... that's what I'm gonna do." "You won't be alone though, if you're staying then I'm staying. I wouldn't be able to concentrate on Michael knowing you're back here." Sam, Bobby, and Mary leave, and I hang out with Jack for a while before helping him make Nick something to eat. We walk to his room and Cas knocks on the door. "Hi. I brought you some nourishment. Now that he's, uh- gone, y-you must remember to eat." "Right. Thanks," Nick says as Cas sets the tray on his desk. "I'm not him, Castiel." "I know," the angel sighs. "But you still can't look at me." "It's difficult. You don't remember all the things you did in his thrall, but I do." "I know. I just don't- I don't... get it. I don't understand why I would do something like that. I don't... I don't get how I would let Lucifer possess me." "You were in a lot of pain. And Lucifer saw vulnerability, and he... he exploited it." "Is that what you tell yourself so you can be near me?" "I guess so." "I just don't know what kind of pain would make me allow Lucifer to possess me." "It was your family." "My family? Sarah and Teddy? No," Nick lets out a shaky breath, and I sit next to him. "Oh my god. Who could do that?" "A man... broke into your house... and you weren't there." "That was no man. That's not a man. That's a monster. That's a monster, and then- and then Lucifer found me and made me a monster, too. Oh my god," I wrap an arm around Nick's shoulders as he sobs. After Nick stops crying, we leave him alone and go out to the living room to see what Jack's doing. We find him pouring over a huge book, with two more on the table next to him. I pull a chair out next to him and sit down, kissing his cheek softly. "Looks like about... two centuries of biblical lore. Light reading," Cas says. "I'm researching how long it takes archangel grace to replenish." "Well... archangels being exceedingly rare, the data on that is woefully scant. The books say it can take from a month to... a century," Jack looks up from his book with a frown. "The complicating factor is your human component, which slows the process. Jack, um... mourning what you've lost... it's wasteful. Might be smarter to focus on what you still have." "You don't understand what I'm going through." "Yes, I do- a little. At the time of the Great Fall, when the angels were banished from Heaven, I lost what I thought was everything. I had no grace, I had no... wings. I felt hopeless and useless." "What did you have left?" "Well, I had Sam and Dean. But I had something else that was extremely helpful. I had myself. Just the basic me, as, uh... as Dean would say, without all the bells and whistles. You know... Sam and Dean, they weren't born with their expertise. They've been at it since they were children. Failing, winning, developing over the years. Patience... persistence- those are skills, too. The past, where you came from, that's important, but it is not as important as the future and where you're going." Just then Cas' phone rings, and he excuses himself to answer it, leaving Jack to his research. After making sure he's alright, I follow behind my angel to listen to his conversation. "That doesn't make any sense, Sam. I've never heard of an interaction between an archangel and a vampire- certainly not in this universe. And... why would Michael be killing them? I mean, they're not a threat to him. Yeah, okay. Well, just let me know what you find out," while he's talking, Nick comes out of the hallway leading to his room. "Nick, are you, uh..." "Nothing. Nothing. There's nothing. There's no information. There's no information on my wife and son past the year they were... when they died. There's- there's nothing about the case being solved. Nothing!" "Oh, Nick..." "Oh, I'm sorry. I-I didn't know that." "If I were around, I would have been on those cops every single day, Castiel. But I was out of my head with grief. I said yes to Lucifer. I was a coward, and now-" Cas walks over and tries to lay a hand on Nick's arm, but he snaps his fingers. "Don't." "Why did you do that?" "Do what?" "What went through your head just now?" "Um, I don't know... nothing? What are you... trying to get at?" "Even though he's departed, there may be... some of his influence still within you. Just..." the angel reaches out and places a hand slowly on Nick's arm, closing his eyes for a moment. "Lucifer may have inflicted more damage on your psyche than we suspected." "I don't have time for this. I'm not letting this go, Castiel. I'm gonna find who killed my family." "And then what?" But Nick doesn't answer, he just keeps walking away. He stays in his room for over an hour, then he comes back in, on the phone. "Detective, my wife and son were murdered in Pine Creek, Delaware. You're a police lieutenant in Pine Creek, Delaware. If you can't help me, who can? Hello?" Nick hangs up his phone with an irritated sigh. "You gotta be k- You know what a cold case is, Castiel?" "Uh..." "It's a case too unimportant for anybody to care about. My wife and son are dead- gone forever. My life is gone with them, and, uh... a-and nobody cares. These cops don't care." "Well, I'm sorry. That sounds... very difficult." "Difficult? Yeah, you know what's difficult? There's no evidence. There's no fingerprints. There's no DNA. I mean, how does that even happen? I mean, there was a witness who came forward and said they saw someone coming out of the house, and then they said they didn't see anything at all, and the case died. Like everything else." "Nick. You, on the other hand, you've been given... a second chance. You're not dead." "You don't understand." "No, I do." "Oh, because your body was stolen?" "Because I am occupying someone else's. All angels have to in order to walk the earth. This... this was Jimmy Novak." "'Occupy.' Sounds like a cleaned-up way of saying 'steal.' And, um, Jimmy- is that his name? He alright with that?" "Yes, he was." "'Was'?" "Jimmy's dead." "Castiel... you're just a stone-cold body snatcher. You're no different than Lucifer." "I... I need to look in on Jack," Cas walks away and I follow him, but then he stops. "You know... in all my thousands of years... what happened to Jimmy Novak... and his family... it's my greatest regret." We go to Jack's room to check on him, only to find him gone. But before we can worry too much, we hear the door to the bunker open. When Jack tells us where he was, Cas flips out a little. "Jack, what were you thinking, taking that kind of a risk?" "No, it wasn't a risk." "But, t-to go out there alone? Jack, you have been on the radar of every angel and demon and power broker in creation since the day you were born, and I'm sorry, but you're not exactly yourself." "Weak and defenseless, you mean." "I mean, that the possibility of capture is real, yes." "I heard what you were saying, Cas, about me finding out where I came from. Well, I never knew my mother. I thought the next best thing might be for me to meet the only real family that I have left." "That is not- well, did it help?" Jack nods. "And you didn't tell them who you were, did you?" "Of course not. I wanted to. I wanted to tell them I was their grandson. They thought I actually kind of looked like her. I... I couldn't tell them that she died. They just... love her so much. I know I should have." "What you did, you did... from a place of kindness. I suppose there are worse ways to be human than to be kind." "Have you heard from Sam? Did they find Michael?" "Yeah, they think so." "So they're gonna try and kill him?" "Um... no. No,- the plan is to subdue him using angel cuffs and spell work. They have to get Michael out of Dean." "And if he doesn't leave?" "Then they'll try to drive him out." "And if that doesn't work?" "Jack-" "Cas, Michael has to be stopped." "I know, and he will be after Dean is-" "No, Dean doesn't matter. You're all so focused on trying to save Dean. And I get it, I understand, but if he can't be saved if it comes down to him or Michael... Michael has to be stopped. Caged or killed- " "And if that means that Dean dies, too?" "Then Dean dies. I know this Michael. I've seen what he's done to an entire world, and so have you. If stopping that from happening here means that Dean has to die, then..." my knees buckle and I catch myself on the table. "Do you think he'd want it any other way?"

Cas doesn't reply, but we all know the answer to that question: if it came down to it, Dean would want us to take him out if it would stop Michael from laying waste to our world like he did with his. But luckily, we don't have to make that choice, because when Sam, Bobby, and Mary come home, they have Dean with them. I stare at him in shock for a moment before running into his arms and holding on for dear life like I'm afraid he'll disappear.

"Dean? Is it really you?"

"Yeah, it's me, baby."

Dean walks off into the bunker with his brother, and I follow behind him, catching his hand in mine. When he finally finds Sam, he immediately rags on him for letting his beard grow out so much, making me smile.

"It's just, every time I think about it, it's like a- it's like a nightmare. I mean, I can't eat, I can't sleep. It's always just there, watching."

"Dean, it's just a beard. I've been a little busy lately."

"Yeah, well, that's not an excuse. You know, cause, uh, 'Duck Dynasty' called, and they just- they want it all back."

"Some people say I look good."

"No. No, Sam. No people say that."

"Hey, hey. You, uh-"

"Hey, if you're gonna ask if I'm okay, you don't have to."

"All right. It's just, uh, you know, you didn't talk a whole lot on the ride here."

"Look, Michael bailed, all right? I don't know how. I don't know why. He just- he just cleared out. And as far as my memory goes, I mean, everything from the second I said yes to the moment I walked through those doors is blank, so I'm good. I'm just really, really happy to be... home," as we walk into the living room, Dean trails off.

"Yeah, there have been a few changes made. So, uh..."

A man wearing a green shirt with a flannel over it walks toward us, looking at Dean curiously. 

"Yeah, not Michael anymore."

"Yeah. Chief told us. Welcome back."

"'Chief'?"

"Yeah, I-I asked them not to call me that, but-"

"Dean?" Jack says, walking toward us.

"Hey, kid."

"Is it really you?"

"Yeah."

Cas comes into the room from the direction of the kitchen and bedrooms, eyes full of hope and love for his hunter. Jack hugs Dean quickly and looks at him with the same adoration he always does.

"Dean."

"Cas."

"Sorry, I wanted to be there, but we figured that Michael would sense my presence, so-"

"Sam told me. Ain't no thing."

"Where's Mary?"

"She and Bobby stayed back in Duluth to clean up the, uh- uh, the situation."

"Yeah, well, speaking of cleanup, I, uh... I need a shower."

"Hey, y-y-you..."

"Still okay. I promise," Dean points at Cas as he walks toward the bathroom.

"Uh, how's Nick?" Sam asks.

"He's... he's gone," Jack says.

"What?"

"Nick just- he left a note, said that he had some personal business to attend to, and he hasn't- he hasn't been returning my calls. He was in a dark place. Maybe he just needed some time."

"All right. Yeah. Maybe."

"Sam... Dean- how is he really?"

"I don't know."

"Why would Michael just... give up his vessel like that?"

"I don't know."

"And why was... why was Michael helping monsters?"

"Cas... truth is... we don't know anything."

After Dean showers and changes, he comes to find Cas, Sam, and me. I crawl in his lap and he wraps an arm around my waist as we talk. He shows us a scar on his arm, raised and red, fairly recent.

"Yeah, I don't know how I got it."

"Well, what could hurt Michael like that?" Cas asks.

"Whatever it was must've been strong," Sam replies.

"Right. So, Cas, I'm gonna need you to, uh, get in my head. You know, do the whole Vulcan-mind-meld thing. Cause if I can't remember what happened, I need you to drag it out of me, okay?"

"W-wait a second," Sam interrupts. "You sure about this?"

"Yeah. I can handle it."

"Dean..."

"Cas, come on. Hit me."

So Cas places his hands on Dean's head, and I curl my arms around his neck. "I got you, baby, I'm right here, Dean."

After a moment, Cas brings his hands away. "Dean, who was that?"

When Dean explains, we decide we have to call Jody.

"Sam, any news?"

"Jody, hey, u-uh... yeah, uh, sorry. Uh..." he hits his brother's arm.

"Hey, Jody. I'm back."

"Hey, Dean. It is so good to hear your voice."

"Yeah, you, too."

"Um, Jody, that's-" Cas cuts in. "That's the good news."

"What's up?"

"Um, you know the thing that killed Kaia in the Bad Place? Well, we think it's here."

"What?"

"Yeah, uh, any chance you've noticed anything rift-related over there? A flare-up, or, um, uh, anything?

"No, I- no. I have video surveillance gong down at the ferry. Claire practically sits shiva down there. There's been nothing. How do you know?" "Well, short version, when Michael was possessing me, he got hurt. It left a scar- uh, two deep gashes. Stabby, prongy, kind of like, um-" "Like someone stabbed you with a giant meat fork?" "Yeah. Exactly. How'd you know that?" Jody tells us there's been a string of murders in Sioux Falls where the victims have the same mark that Dean has. So we pack up and get ready to head out. This gives me the added bonus of being able to see Jody. While we're packing, Jack comes into the room. "You're leaving?" "Kaia's killer is in Sioux Falls," Dean says. And he, she, or it can hurt Michael. We just gotta figure out how." "I'll get my things." "Uh, Jack, um... that might not be the best idea." Cas stops him. "Michael's my enemy, too. I fought him for months, and Kaia- I'm the one who brought her into this. I'm responsible for what happened to her. I want to help." "Yeah, well, not gonna happen," Dean says. "Why because I'm human now?" "Jack, maybe you just need a little more-" Sam starts. "Training? I've been training with Bobby." "C'mon, kid. Look at you. You're barely 100 pounds soaking wet. You know?" "Dean..." I start, and Jack turns to walk away. "Wait. Jack. Hey, I didn't mean..." Cas and I turn to glare at him. "I didn't mean to be a dick." Just then, Jules, one of Bobby's people comes into the bunker. "A little help here!" "Jules, what's going on?" Sam asks. "Case I was working in Wichita- the missing teenagers, dried-up husk bodies?" "Yeah." "Turns out it was a witch. She was holding the girls hostage, and this... is the only survivor. Took Broom-hilda down with that witch killing bullet you gave me, but soon as I did, something went wrong. Didn't even have time to bury the body before-" "Before what?" Dean asks. "Lora, darling, show them." The girl holds out a shaky hand, a tear rolling down her cheek. Her skin is wrinkled and old looking. "The witch must have hexed her." "Looks like an aging spell," Cas says. "Can you fix it?" "I think so," he places a hand on the girls' forehead. "Cas?" "Uh, this might take a while. You three, go. Get to Sioux Falls before the trail goes cold, and I'll catch up when I'm done." "No, no, I don't know." "Yeah, no, Cas is- Cas is right. He can handle this. We need to hit the road. Let's go." Dean and I head out to the car, but Sam doesn't follow for a moment until Cas says his name. "All right. All right, yep. Good work," he tells Jules. Once we're in the car, Dean speeds towards Sioux falls. He's going way over the speed limit to get to Michael. "You're in a hurry," Sam says. "Shouldn't I be? If you're worried about that girl, Cas has got it handled." "Yeah, I know." "Well, then, what's the problem?" "Dean, we still have no idea why Michael let you go or where he is now or what he wants. " "Yeah, or who his favorite Spice Girl is." "Come on, man. This isn't a joke. Something huge happened, and you won't really even talk about it. But this whole Michael thing, we need to deal with it." "Okay, I'm literally going eighty to deal with it. How can I be running from something when I'm racing towards it?" "Kind of your thing." "Okay." "Okay, look, I'm just saying... you said you let Michael in, then, bang, you're back in a blink. But for me, for Nyssa... for Cas... you were gone for weeks. We didn't know if you were alive. I... I just need you to talk to me, to slow down, so I can catch up." "Call Jody. Tell her we're almost there." When we pull into the parking lot of the police station, the Impala's headlights illuminate Jody standing there, waiting for us. Dean shuts off the car, and we climb out. "Dean," Jody says, pulling him into a hug. "Oh, welcome home." "Thanks." "How'd you do it?" "What, me versus some assbang archangel- who would you take?" "You, every time." "Hi," Sam says, and Jody turns to hug him and me. Then she runs a hand along Sam's beard. "Hey, I like it!" "Uh, i-it's, uh... how are you? How are the girls?" "Surprisingly good. Alex is still at the hospital. Patience is still in school. Claire's still... Claire. I, uh... I haven't been home since I talked to you. I may be avoiding her. It's just before I tell her what's going on, I need to-" "You need to know what's going on," Sam says. "Yeah, that's it," Dean says. "Okay, so here are the locations of the three bodies we found- headless by the way." "Human?" "As far as I could tell, yep. Until I talked to you, I thought we were hunting a human, too, maybe a serial killer. It'd be the first one in Sioux Falls since-" "Well, since Robert Leroy Anderson." "Yeah. Yeah, so, um... so I figure this area between the crime scenes, it's the best place to start looking for whatever this is." "Should we wait til, uh, daybreak?" "Why?" Dean asks. "No, let's go." We walk for hours until the sun is finally up. Then Dean speaks for the first time in a while. "We'd make better time if we split up." "Uh- uh, Dean, w-we'll be safer if we stick together." "Yeah, if I get a vote, I'm Team Stick Together." "Fine," Dean and I round a tree and stop in our tracks when we see three severed heads on posts. "Guys!" "Holy mother..." Jody says slowly. Dean walks up to one of the severed heads and lifts its' lip. "Vampires." "Jody, these match your vics?" "They were John Does. Hard to tell. Three heads, three headless bodies, the math works. Except, Sam, I checked those bodies. I brought tissue samples home. Alex ran them underneath a microscope. Silver, Dead Man's Blood- there was no reaction." Dean walks over to a campfire a few hundred yards behind the bodies, picking up a tin can and promptly dropping it. Suddenly, a hooded figure comes out of nowhere and tries to stab Dean, but he rolls out of the way. The figure knocks Jody, Sam and I off our feet, then goes to attack Dean again, but he catches their weapon. The figure flips backward, and her hood comes off, then she hits Dean with her weapon, knocking him backward on his ass. We all stare at her as she throws her weapon, vaults over a wall of branches and runs away. "What the hell?" Dean says. "It looked just like her, just like-" "Kaia." "You saw her die over there, right?" "Yes, absolutely," Sam says. "Then what's happening?" "All I know is that thing- it dressed the same and it moved the same as the thing killed Kaia." "Yeah." "How is that possible?" "I don't know. But let's find her and ask." We end up following the girls' faint footsteps, Dean and I ahead of Sam and Jody. "Dean? Dean, what is it?" "She's got a light foot, but she's still leaving tracks." "Okay, hold up, hold up. Wait- wait a second." "What?" "Her face. You saw it, too- the bruises." "That could've been vamps." "Or it could've been Michael. Come on. Three vamps in Sioux Falls and not a single civilian death. That's not an accident. I think they were hunting her." "Why?" "I think because Michael sent them to finish what he started." "Okay, we don't know that." "Jody tested the bodies, Dean. They're different. They're- they're immune to Dead Man's Blood the same way Michael's werewolves were immune to silver." "Doesn't change the plan." "Yeah, but, Dean..." Dean doesn't answer, just keeps walking, following the trail of whatever it is we're hunting. Everything's quiet until Jody's cell phone rings, but she just looks at it and ignores the call. "All good?" Sam asks. "Ah, the girls are asking for me." "You gonna tell them?" "They have a right to know, but I can't. I promised Claire human cases are mine, but anything monster-y, I'd loop her in. But this... aw. Claire's been doing so good, and, I mean, anything connected to Kaia, she's a powder keg. First love strikes quick, and to lose it like that... well, you two are having a time of it." "Yeah. He's working something out. And he's working it out alone. Only thing I know- he's not ready for this case." "Maybe. Maybe he needs it." Finally, we make it to a cabin in the middle of the woods. Dean sneaks up onto the porch, punching the monster in the face when it comes out to investigate a noise. We tie her to a chair inside the cabin and wait for her to wake up so we can question her. She looks up at Jody with a scowl on her face. "What are you?" "If you're asking if I'm the girl you knew, your Kaia, no." "Then what? You're from, uh, over there, yeah?" Sam asks. "You know I am." "So you're Kaia's double? Hm? Like Bad Cas or New Bobby." "What I was to her, she was to me, you could never understand." "Why did you kill her?" Jody asked. "That was an accident. I was trying to kill the blonde." "How'd you cross over? How'd you open a rift?" Sam's questions are met with silence. "Okay. Why are you here?" "You mean right here? Cause of him," the girl answers, tipping her chin at Dean. "Yeah, not him. Not Michael. Not anymore." "I know. You're much weaker." "Maybe. But you're still scared." "Not of you. Of them- the monsters he sends after me. Every time I slow down, there's more. There's always more." "Guys, we should move this. Take her to the station, just to be safe." "No, we need to break her, right here, right now." "Break her? What do you mean 'break her'? For what?" "He wants to know where I hid my weapon. That's all he wants. That's what this is all about." "Dean, what, you're gonna hurt her? Torture her?" Jody asks. "That pig sticker she's hiding- it is the only thing we know that hurts Michael. I'm gonna do whatever it takes," he kicks the chair the girl is in, and it slides across the floor until it hits the wall. "Where's the spear? Where is it?! Where is it?" "You're no different than him- threats, violence, anything to get what you want." "I am nothing like him." "Yeah, you are. You always have been. I saw what you did to her. When you got angry, you shoved your gun in her face." "How do you know about that?" "Wait a second," Sam says. "You're a dreamwalker, too. Your powers- they connected you." "Our whole lives. What she saw, I saw. I know where it comes from- your anger, your impatience. It's fear. You're scared. And you're weak." "All right. Shut up." "Michael hurt you. He hurt me, too. You remember now?" "So Michael wants the spear because he knows it can hurt him, and that's why his monsters are coming after you," Sam says. "Yes." "Dean, we should get out of here." "Unh-unh. Guys. Too late." Three vamps burst in the cabin, and we all stare each other down for a moment. "We only came for her, but I was never one to turn down a buffet," the vamp in front says. The vamps end up on the winning side of the fights against Dean, Jody, and Sam. "Those spiked bullets don't hurt us anymore." But he shoots one of the legs of the chair that Dark Kaia is tied to, freeing her. "Now you're in trouble," he says, but the girl vaults out the window. "Or not." "Slippery one, isn't she?" But a few minutes later, Dark Kaia comes back in, killing the vamps in less than thirty seconds. "You saved us. You didn't have to," Jody says. "I came back for them, not you," the girl says to Dean. "You know, as long as you have that spear, you're gonna be a target- for Michael, his monsters. They'll keep chasing you," Sam says. "I'm used to it," she replies right before she leaves. The four of us walk slowly out of the cabin, and Dean turns to the sheriff. "Jody..." "Dean Winchester, you have nothing to apologize for." "How is the arm?" "Yeah, you sure you don't want a ride to the hospital or-" Sam starts. "I've driven with a broken arm before. More worried what I'm gonna tell Alex when I get there. And then once I get home..." "Claire." "Yeah. I'm dreading those consequences. She's gotta know. She's gotta know that Kaia's killer is still out there." "You alright?" "It's just, you know, seeing her face again. Raising three Hunters and fearing every day that I might lose one of them... didn't really even get a chance to know Kaia before she di- I just feel like I already lost before I even began." A couple of minutes later, Dean, Sam, and I are on our way back home. Everyone is quiet for a long time, then Dean speaks up. "I put us all in danger today. Stupid danger." "Dean..." "You were right," Dean interrupts his brother. "I didn't want to look at it, what Michael used me for. I just wanted to race ahead, you know, skip to the end of the story, the part where I get the weapon and I take out the bad guy- the part where I kill Michael." "Yeah, I know." "You know, I said yes to him because I thought... it was stupid. I was stupid." "Dean... you did what you had to do." "And it wasn't a blink, being possessed. I made it seem like that, but it wasn't. I don't remember most of what Michael did with me because I was underwater, drowning, and that I remember. I remember every second of it- clawing, fighting for air. I thought I could make it out, but I- I... I couldn't, I wasn't strong enough. And now he's gone and he's out there putting an army of monsters together and he's hurting people. And it's all on me, man. I said yes. It's my fault."

Later that night once we get home, I go to Jack's room to go to bed and see him already asleep. I get undressed and climb carefully into bed behind him, wrapping an arm around his waist and falling asleep. When I wake up in the morning, Jack is coughing. He tells me he must just be getting his first cold since he's human now. I believed him, but looking back, I really wish I wouldn't have.


End file.
